The Ruff Gaming Forza 4 Endurance Championship – Season 3
Final Race – Maple Valley
First of all, I’d like to apologise for last week, I was unwell and wasn’t up to racing and Ruffian Stew felt it would be better if I stuck to organising, with the rules etc.
Right on with the final race report…… Could Mehwarrior hold off Booster to secure his championship crown back? Well that was answered before the race started, unfortunately for Booster, he wasn’t able to take part this week due to work commitments so The Mehwarrior was crowned champion before the tryes began to scream. This didn’t take anything away from the race itself as there were still plenty of positions being contested and the team championship was still close! As well as Booster, Baw and Rambo were also missing for this final stage.
After a few connection problems we finally got all the racers in and began the qualifying. There had been a lack of practice from most people for the race, so the car was new to them and the Saleen S7 isn’t the best for handling…….. Early in the session we lost mikethemute as his headset wasn’t working so he couldn’t hear his engine for gear changes etc so he retired to try and sort it out. It was clear that the lack of practice was affecting the front runners, with Darkestfrost (1.35.786) unable to set a clean lap so joined Wackybar (1.41.566) who also struggled to set a clean lap, however his doorbell rang right as the session started and at 10.15pm at night it could only be either a Pizza, a stripper or Baw (maybe it was all 3….) so he had an excuse, starting towards the back. Either side of Darkestfrost sat Ruffian Stew (1.43.704) and Nash effect (1.41.126 Unclean). With mikethemute and Darkestfrost qualifying further down, pgtips (1.39.331) myself (1.37.942) and Raingod Zippo (1.36.073) to qualify further towards the front runners. The front 3 were split by less than a second, with T3RRAF0RM (1.33.949) being beaten by the impressive Taffman (1.33.225) who lost out just to The Mehwarrior (1.33.068) who took his 3rd Pole of the season, earning himself the extra 5 points….not that he needs them!!!!!!!
Right on with the race…. Mikethemute hadn’t managed to get his headset fixed before the main race started, but because we are kind and generous souls, we decided to abandon the race and start again to include mike. Once we got away for the 2nd time it was action packed from the first corner!!! Firstly Ruffian Stew decided to test the durability of the Saleen S7, more specifically MINE!!!! The slightest touch was enough to send me spinning off into the gravel, completely ruining the rear end of my car, including the aerodynamics, which made a rather difficult car to drive pretty much impossible!!! Darkestfrost had a great start and was soon working his way through the field to Raingod, who sensibly didn’t put up too much of a fight (the other left?!). More action at the end of the first lap with mikethemute really struggling with the car forcing him back down to the back after a series of accidents with walls and kerbs. Up front The Mehwarrior was pulling away from The Taffman and T3RRAF0RM, who were now battling away with Darkestfrost. It wasn’t long before the cars leading started lapping the back markers with a near miss between T3RRAF0RM and me at 160mph. Up at the front, the Mehwarrior rolled his car going towards the bridge, which meant Darkestfrost could close the gap and eventually pass him to take the lead. The race began to settle down with Darkestfrost leading, followed by The Mehwarrior, with Taffman and T3RRAF0RM not too far behind. Wackybar, Raingod and Pgtips continued their season long battle for the midfield, with Ruffian Stew a safe distance behind, being hunted by Nash Effect and me! Mikethemute soldiered on with a destroyed car at the back, doing his best to keep off the racing line and out of people’s way.
It wasn’t long before I had caught up and passed Nash Effect (As he pitted) and was closing on Ruffian Stew around 1.5 seconds a lap! I think it was lap 14, towards the end, Nash effect had caught the wall on the outside, just as Wackybar was going to lap him, which resulted in the 2 colliding ending Wackybars night, however there would be another casualty as T3RRAF0RM couldn’t avoid the 2 car carnage which resulted in his car being on its side over the start/finish line. Both T3RRAF0RM kindly dropped out of the game so their cars would be moved with Nash Effect Limping into the pits. Darkestfrost soon pulled out a lead over The Mehwarrior and Taffman, who were battling away (bear in mind they are team mates!) for the higher podium step, with Pgtips leading Raingod, whilst Ruffian Stew now had me to deal with. It was 3 laps from the end when I finally got within overtaking distance of Ruffian Stew, just sitting behind him….waiting….watching….. before making my move up the hill, despite a cheeky nudge for Stew. It was at the start of the next lap when Ruffian Stew pulled a fantastic overtake on me at the first corner and I still don’t know how he managed to get the car slowed down enough after shooting past me on the inside. Darkestfrost however was soon crossing the line for his 1st victory this season, topping off a great drive, coming from the back to take the win, so huge congratulations to him. The Mehwarrior and Taffman ended the race in style (Check out the Replay!) confirming that the Welsh Warriors are the team champions so another huge congratulation to them both. Pgtips did enough to hold off Raingod Zippo meaning he came out on top of the 3 amigos, with Wackys unfortunate demise.
The final 2 laps between me and Ruffian Stew involved a lot of off roading, swearing and constantly changing position. Heading into the final lap Ruffian Stew was just holding onto the lead until the first straight after the long first corner where I managed to squeeze past. As we climbed the hill Ruffian Stew made a last ditch effort to try and pass me, sending us both into the barrier on the right hand side, rolling his car onto its side in the process. As I was driving away up the hill, I saw Ruffian Stew’s car sideways so I kindly reversed and (Gently) nudged him back onto 4 wheels, knowing his car would be too damaged to continue. Mikethemute finished the race in a similar fashion to Le Mans, upside down in the gravel rounding off a forgettable championship for him. Nash Effect pounded round for the last few laps pretty much on his own after pitting more times than he cares to remember. My driver of the day goes to Darkestfrost, who came from the back to storm to a comfortable victory in the end. I’d also like to offer a special mention to The Taffman who was so close to taking pole position and had a great race throughout.
So that’s it for another season, The Mehwarrior claimed his crown back from mikethemute, winning 3 out of the 5 races and never finishing below 2nd place so a well-deserved winner. The team championship went to The Welsh Warriors (The Mehwarrior and the Taffman) who will now both go into the Ruff Gaming Hall of Fame.
I normally chose a driver of the championship but I can’t really choose one moment that stands out to say ‘yes he is the driver of the championship’. There was Mehwarrior’s dominance throughout, Boosters qualifying laps and victory and Road Atlanta, Raingods superb drive at Rally Di Postanio, Baw’s lack of incidents (Worth a mention right!) Pgtips and Wackybar being quietly efficient throughout, there are far too many! I know Ruffian Stew is thinking of making a highlights video, I will try my best to do something along the same lines with some of the more memorable moments.
No doubt Stew will be asking me to run at least one more on Forza 4 and I hope everyone will join in, I already have some ideas ;)and I promise I will send it out in style!!!!
Thanks to everyone who has taken part throughout the championship, there has been some great racing as to be expected.
A special mention to PGtips who provided paint jobs for all the cars in the club garage that were used for the competition, so a really big thanks to him for that, I think everyone can admit they looked great. Whilst we are on paint jobs the Paint competition is still open for you to submit your entries of what cars you used during the championship until SUNDAY 20TH OCTOBER @ 8.00pm. Remember entries must be submitted to the specific location in the forum. Once the top entries have been chosen they will put onto a vote for the community to decide a winner, who will be announced SUNDAY 27TH OCTOBER.
Thanks again to everyone and I’ll stop waffling on now!
Final Race – Maple Valley
First of all, I’d like to apologise for last week, I was unwell and wasn’t up to racing and Ruffian Stew felt it would be better if I stuck to organising, with the rules etc.
Right on with the final race report…… Could Mehwarrior hold off Booster to secure his championship crown back? Well that was answered before the race started, unfortunately for Booster, he wasn’t able to take part this week due to work commitments so The Mehwarrior was crowned champion before the tryes began to scream. This didn’t take anything away from the race itself as there were still plenty of positions being contested and the team championship was still close! As well as Booster, Baw and Rambo were also missing for this final stage.
After a few connection problems we finally got all the racers in and began the qualifying. There had been a lack of practice from most people for the race, so the car was new to them and the Saleen S7 isn’t the best for handling…….. Early in the session we lost mikethemute as his headset wasn’t working so he couldn’t hear his engine for gear changes etc so he retired to try and sort it out. It was clear that the lack of practice was affecting the front runners, with Darkestfrost (1.35.786) unable to set a clean lap so joined Wackybar (1.41.566) who also struggled to set a clean lap, however his doorbell rang right as the session started and at 10.15pm at night it could only be either a Pizza, a stripper or Baw (maybe it was all 3….) so he had an excuse, starting towards the back. Either side of Darkestfrost sat Ruffian Stew (1.43.704) and Nash effect (1.41.126 Unclean). With mikethemute and Darkestfrost qualifying further down, pgtips (1.39.331) myself (1.37.942) and Raingod Zippo (1.36.073) to qualify further towards the front runners. The front 3 were split by less than a second, with T3RRAF0RM (1.33.949) being beaten by the impressive Taffman (1.33.225) who lost out just to The Mehwarrior (1.33.068) who took his 3rd Pole of the season, earning himself the extra 5 points….not that he needs them!!!!!!!
Right on with the race…. Mikethemute hadn’t managed to get his headset fixed before the main race started, but because we are kind and generous souls, we decided to abandon the race and start again to include mike. Once we got away for the 2nd time it was action packed from the first corner!!! Firstly Ruffian Stew decided to test the durability of the Saleen S7, more specifically MINE!!!! The slightest touch was enough to send me spinning off into the gravel, completely ruining the rear end of my car, including the aerodynamics, which made a rather difficult car to drive pretty much impossible!!! Darkestfrost had a great start and was soon working his way through the field to Raingod, who sensibly didn’t put up too much of a fight (the other left?!). More action at the end of the first lap with mikethemute really struggling with the car forcing him back down to the back after a series of accidents with walls and kerbs. Up front The Mehwarrior was pulling away from The Taffman and T3RRAF0RM, who were now battling away with Darkestfrost. It wasn’t long before the cars leading started lapping the back markers with a near miss between T3RRAF0RM and me at 160mph. Up at the front, the Mehwarrior rolled his car going towards the bridge, which meant Darkestfrost could close the gap and eventually pass him to take the lead. The race began to settle down with Darkestfrost leading, followed by The Mehwarrior, with Taffman and T3RRAF0RM not too far behind. Wackybar, Raingod and Pgtips continued their season long battle for the midfield, with Ruffian Stew a safe distance behind, being hunted by Nash Effect and me! Mikethemute soldiered on with a destroyed car at the back, doing his best to keep off the racing line and out of people’s way.
It wasn’t long before I had caught up and passed Nash Effect (As he pitted) and was closing on Ruffian Stew around 1.5 seconds a lap! I think it was lap 14, towards the end, Nash effect had caught the wall on the outside, just as Wackybar was going to lap him, which resulted in the 2 colliding ending Wackybars night, however there would be another casualty as T3RRAF0RM couldn’t avoid the 2 car carnage which resulted in his car being on its side over the start/finish line. Both T3RRAF0RM kindly dropped out of the game so their cars would be moved with Nash Effect Limping into the pits. Darkestfrost soon pulled out a lead over The Mehwarrior and Taffman, who were battling away (bear in mind they are team mates!) for the higher podium step, with Pgtips leading Raingod, whilst Ruffian Stew now had me to deal with. It was 3 laps from the end when I finally got within overtaking distance of Ruffian Stew, just sitting behind him….waiting….watching….. before making my move up the hill, despite a cheeky nudge for Stew. It was at the start of the next lap when Ruffian Stew pulled a fantastic overtake on me at the first corner and I still don’t know how he managed to get the car slowed down enough after shooting past me on the inside. Darkestfrost however was soon crossing the line for his 1st victory this season, topping off a great drive, coming from the back to take the win, so huge congratulations to him. The Mehwarrior and Taffman ended the race in style (Check out the Replay!) confirming that the Welsh Warriors are the team champions so another huge congratulation to them both. Pgtips did enough to hold off Raingod Zippo meaning he came out on top of the 3 amigos, with Wackys unfortunate demise.
The final 2 laps between me and Ruffian Stew involved a lot of off roading, swearing and constantly changing position. Heading into the final lap Ruffian Stew was just holding onto the lead until the first straight after the long first corner where I managed to squeeze past. As we climbed the hill Ruffian Stew made a last ditch effort to try and pass me, sending us both into the barrier on the right hand side, rolling his car onto its side in the process. As I was driving away up the hill, I saw Ruffian Stew’s car sideways so I kindly reversed and (Gently) nudged him back onto 4 wheels, knowing his car would be too damaged to continue. Mikethemute finished the race in a similar fashion to Le Mans, upside down in the gravel rounding off a forgettable championship for him. Nash Effect pounded round for the last few laps pretty much on his own after pitting more times than he cares to remember. My driver of the day goes to Darkestfrost, who came from the back to storm to a comfortable victory in the end. I’d also like to offer a special mention to The Taffman who was so close to taking pole position and had a great race throughout.
So that’s it for another season, The Mehwarrior claimed his crown back from mikethemute, winning 3 out of the 5 races and never finishing below 2nd place so a well-deserved winner. The team championship went to The Welsh Warriors (The Mehwarrior and the Taffman) who will now both go into the Ruff Gaming Hall of Fame.
I normally chose a driver of the championship but I can’t really choose one moment that stands out to say ‘yes he is the driver of the championship’. There was Mehwarrior’s dominance throughout, Boosters qualifying laps and victory and Road Atlanta, Raingods superb drive at Rally Di Postanio, Baw’s lack of incidents (Worth a mention right!) Pgtips and Wackybar being quietly efficient throughout, there are far too many! I know Ruffian Stew is thinking of making a highlights video, I will try my best to do something along the same lines with some of the more memorable moments.
No doubt Stew will be asking me to run at least one more on Forza 4 and I hope everyone will join in, I already have some ideas ;)and I promise I will send it out in style!!!!
Thanks to everyone who has taken part throughout the championship, there has been some great racing as to be expected.
A special mention to PGtips who provided paint jobs for all the cars in the club garage that were used for the competition, so a really big thanks to him for that, I think everyone can admit they looked great. Whilst we are on paint jobs the Paint competition is still open for you to submit your entries of what cars you used during the championship until SUNDAY 20TH OCTOBER @ 8.00pm. Remember entries must be submitted to the specific location in the forum. Once the top entries have been chosen they will put onto a vote for the community to decide a winner, who will be announced SUNDAY 27TH OCTOBER.
Thanks again to everyone and I’ll stop waffling on now!
